Paving the Way

[Heraklion]

When Shizuma wakes and looks at her PDA she finds "1 new message" in the upper left corner. She opens the menu and sees it's from Steve. She hesitates and looks at Leo who was still asleep, slowly she gets up and walks out onto the hallway and listens to the message.

'Shi-Shizuma... This is Steve... I... I would like to thank you... for everything. It's strange, but when you're nearly dead... You realize about the stupid things you've made in your life... About things you would like to correct... About things you would never wanted to happen ... ... ... I failed you, but you still helped me... Gallia thing, remember? I didn't thank you for that... Maybe this is what I deserve for being a jerk with you... Well, actually I never was a Bretonian loyalist but... I was scared of being prosecuted by my own people... but you taught me an important lesson... I... I hope you live happily with your new family in... Gran Canaria... Also, your 15 millions... Trafalgar... Ask there... Goodbye.'

As the message ended a couple of tears roll down her face. Even though she realized he would never hear her reply... she still recorded one. "Steve... you'll probably never hear this... and I wish I told you this when it still could have mattered... You were like the brother I never had... I'll miss you... Nee-san..." Just before she stops the recording she breaks out in tears, she sends the recording and walks outside, standing in the backyard... staring at the sunrise... 1 hour... 2 hours... 3 hours... she lost track... when a couple dark clouds appeared she walked back inside.

---

[Akura]

Zoey closed the door of her apartment slowly, twisting the locks and throwing her bag aside. She propped herself against one of the support beams and pulled off each boot in turn, organising them neatly by the door.

The apartment was as elegant as it was glamorous, paid for with years of profit from piracy. Outside the large floor to ceiling windows was a stunning view of Fukuoka, one of the largest cities on Planet Kyushu, the stars of the great system twinkling through the night sky.

Zoey poured herself a small glass of cherry flavoured water and sat down on one of the sofas facing the view. She read through the local news, looking for something interesting that caught her attention.

Her bag began beeping at her from across the room, and she waited for it to settle before getting up to go fetch it. Unzipping her bag she pulled out a small PDA, the source of the beeping.
She had one new message, and audio recording.

It was from Steve.

She dropped the bag and made her way to the sofa again, her face glowing with a pleasant smile as she pressed 'play'.

'Zoey... Zoey... Steve here, or maybe half-Steve, since I'm half-dead, Heh... I should have paid attention to the "Don't talk to strangers"... Heh... Maybe the my fate was to die here, in a hellhole in the middle of nowhere. Life sucks, isn't it? Now I remember all the time we spent together... I'll never regret meeting you, Zoey, because you're... a wonderful person, no matter what you fight for... I hope you also can find a good massagist soon... Yeah Zoey... I'm dead man...Now the only thing I regret... is the fact of not having spent more time with you... I guess it's pointless to say 'I love you' right now ... Sorry... Zoey '

Zoey's smile wore off when she heard Steve's strained voice. She held a blank stare over the cityscape of Fukuowa, until the message had finished. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she slid down onto the floor, leaning her back up against the sofa.

She pressed 'reply',

"I love you too"

Zoey pressed 'send' and pulled her knees up to her chest, burying her head in her arms, sobbing gently and whispering prayers for Steve...

[Ryummel]

Johnson, move the corpses, if people see of what happened here... Well, I prefer not to think on that. You! Report to the defense vessels, tell them to track that Sabre before we lost its signal.

Sir, this one isn't carrying our security insignia...

Huh? Damn it, maybe our boys shot him before the other one killed them. Let me check. A security guard approached Steve's body, lying in the middle of the runway.
Stinson, you used to be paramedic, isn't it? What vein of the neck should I press to check the hearbeats?

Try the left part of the neck, but seems that knife penetrated all the stomach, maybe this boy is already dead because of the internal hemorrhages.

The security guard touched Steve's rigid neck for a few seconds. Hmm... No idea. What about pulling out the knife?

Well, in case he's alive, the blood will flow in torrents, so let me pick up the medkit, sir...

3 minutes later, the security guard and the former paramedic gathered around Steve's body.

Okay sir, pull out the knife and I'll apply this bandage, okay?

The security guard nodded and with both hands, pulled ut the knife of the stomach. As expected, the blood covered all the torso in 2 seconds. The paramedic applied pressure in the wound with the bandage, which cut the bleeding. Moreover, Steve groaned. Damn you all...

Fine! Let's take this lad to the clinic before he loses more blood. Now, who's going to pay this mess?

---

[Ryummel]

4 Hours later

Stop complaining, man. Look, we saved your life and we're not going to send you to the execution wall. We haven't seen nothing, okay?

Wait... Do you have an execution wall?

*Chuckles* Nah, but could be fine. Anyway, now you should take your ship and leave as soon as possible. Now I must wait another 2 hours to write a false report about this incident. I'm quite sure you could buy a new PDA in One of the many hellholes in Liberty. The security guard pointed a rusty door. Goodbye, boy.

Steve got up. He looked at his wound in the stomach. Obviously, the modern medicine allowed the wounds to cicatrize quicklier. Ehh... Where's the knife?

The one that was about to kill you? Why do you want it?

Well... I think... Next time I encounter the guy who did this... I'll stick that knife in his stomach too, and then... I'll spill his guts to the Gaian animals.

Revenge is best served cold, Huh? The guard takes a plastic bag with a knife covered by blood. Here you have, and please, don't return to Freeport 2, okay?

Sure, sure... Now I've to pay a visit to a special person... Well, actually two, but I'll need to approach carefully, since the damn PDA went 'boom'... See you...

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